I just got my DivaCup today. It took me a long time to figure out if and which cup to purchase - thank you all for being here!! Now I feel better knowing that people have more than one sometimes and the benefit is changing to a different cup based on the need.

Over the past few months I have had to start looking for alternatives to pads because of having topical allergic reactions. I realized that I have only used one brand of pads for most of my life because they worked. As a teenager (wow! that was along time ago) tampons gave me TSS symptoms and I was so sick I vowed to never try them again. I started researching and had no idea how toxic the products I was using were. I can't tell if it is true about age or just that there are more toxic processes than before. Point is ... I am opening another area of my life to remove my exposure to toxins.

Recently, I tried a particular brand of pad that was thin and high absorbancy and my reaction was bad enough I was too embarrased and in pain to leave the house. I eventually went a few days later to a walk in clinic. A couple of weeks later my GP said that the brand I told her was a big culprit because of the products/chemicals/materials. I was so happy to hear her say that she uses cups too!! Who knew :) We actually had a back and forth conversation and decided that silicone would be my best option.

So all of that to ask ...

I want to make sure that I do my best to set myself up for success becauses I don't have any options after cups.

I plan on following the instructions on the package. I have to wash my clothing at least once before I put them on my body. As you can guess, I am nervous about inserting anything into my vagina given the past few months. I plan to wash the pouch before using it. Is there something I could do in a preventative way to 'clean' manufactoring residue off? Boil first? Sit in sun? water vinegar?

Would those suggestions also be helpful as preventative measures to decrease the likelihood of the 'foul odor' I see spoken about sometimes?

I wouldn't put your cup in the sun because that could be damaging to the silicone. Boiling it for five minutes should do the trick.

As for the foul smell, you can prevent that by not keeping the cup in for more than 12 hrs. Also, make sure when you are cleaning it in between changes that you make sure the air holes are very clean. Sometimes the smallest residue can start to smell if you continue to use it without cleaning them out.

Also, have you tried cloth pads? I was sold on cups and cloth pads took me a while to even consider them. But honestly they are WONDERFUL!

I have been thinking about it more lately. I saw them first as an alternative but sorta put it off my list of possibilities. Just had washing machine night...er..daymares :) I have very heavy periods and all of this makes me a little uneasy. I am hoping I don't get overwhelmed.

I know that I would like to have a backup and/or alternative to the cup. Shopping for cloth pads is my next step ... so many options ... another month or two of researching those now :)Probably should have done that first to be able to stop using the pads immediately. (Good thing I am a little late this month!! haha)

The wash that comes with it is actually very good and I didn't cough at all. I am so glad that I read about the high concentration of the wash here. I took the sealed plastic off of the wash and used it to wash the pouch and a drop to wash the cup itself. I will boil tomorrow so I can put in the dry bag.

I have a feeling that I may be taking it out more often than the 12 hours so hopefully that wont be a problem. If nothing but to check volume until I figure out how often I need to empty. I didn't realize the odor was a time factor - that makes sense.

(I hope this is posting correctly ... took me a while to figure out how to join and make the first post)